Luke Bryan and Fendt are getting into the snack business with new line of limited-edition popcorn.
Talk with Luke Bryan and he often harkens back to his days on the family farm in Georgia where working early mornings with his Dad were important. And his career has long acknowledged the value of agriculture, including the Luke Bryan Farm Tour, which brings his concerts to different farms around the country. But he’s entering another chapter in his career – snack king.
Bryan is partnering with concert sponsor Fendt on a new line of popcorn – Fendt & Luke Bryan’s Boldly Grown Popcorn. The product features limited edition packaging produced in cooperation with Merritt-Pop Co. Why popcorn?
Bryan spoke with media recently over a video call to discuss the new venture: “I think we got so much attention with the sweet corn patch over the pandemic, I think everybody got a kick out of that. And we sat down, and Fendt had the idea to team up with [Merritt-Pop Co.] and have a little fun.”
The popcorn will be available in two flavors – Bold Butter and Chart Toppin’ Churro. “We kind of went with obviously the classic…with butter. You can’t go wrong with that,” Bryan adds. “With the churro, it’s kind of a bit sweeter, but not as sweet as candy corn…just a little different and a contrast from the bold butter.”
Fendt partnered with Bryan for the Farm Tour in 2021 and is entering a second year as a tour sponsor. As part of the sponsorship, Bryan is spending quality time in a Fendt 724 on his farm and has used the machine for work around his Tennessee operation. And his experience with the machine is a bit different from his early days on the farm.
“The Fendt 724 is just like you’re stepping in the cockpit…it’s just hard to imagine,” he says. He recalls early machines including one where “we would have to bypass the starter with a screwdriver to get it started, we almost had to hotwire it.”
The Fendt is a bit different. “Back then we had all the levers and shifting and manual transmissions to now just everything is available at the touch of a button. And it’s amazing when you can intergrate your planters to the tractor, and you can see when one of your rows isn’t putting seed out.”
Bryan, best known for his country music and his growing career with the Farm Tour, and American Idol, still enjoys time behind the wheel of a tractor. During the first year of the Fendt sponsorship, the company and the country star produced a series of videos – Rise Before Sunrise – where he shares some interesting insights from the cab of that Fendt 724.
As for the new snack venture, it is a limited-edition packaged snack in those two flavors – Bold Butter and Chart Toppin’ Churro. It will be sold only online at boldlygrowngoods.com for $5 per bag (plus shipping) while supplies last. Fans can purchase popcorn beginning at Noon Eastern time Thursday, Aug. 25.
Once the limited supply of the popcorn sells out, Fendt and Bryan will donate $25,000 to the National FFA Organization. “I’ve done the National FFA Convention before and you know I just think those kids just always come from such a hard-working, honest background,” Bryan says. “And you know anytime you meet an FFA kid they have the work ethic, they have the manners and they have that quality of growing up on a farm. And it’s just an endearing thing to meet kids in FFA. So anytime I can promote kids wanting to grow up in the ag industry, it’s pretty amazing stuff.”
And in a special introduction video, Bryan shares how he came upon the idea of popcorn:
